astroengine writes: "In 2003, Space Shuttle Columbia burned up on reentry, killing all seven astronauts on board. However, from the wreckage, a sample of C. elegans worms survived. On Monday, descendants from the worms that survived the disaster were launched on board Endeavour for experiments on the space station. "C. elegans is a common, well-studied organism used in biomedical research as a model for human development, genetics, aging and disease," says NASA. "The organism shares many essential biological characteristics found in human biology.""Link to Original Source